1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a puncture repair material gelling agent and a method of use for the same.
2. Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-35867A describes a puncture repair material containing at least a natural rubber latex, a tackifying resin emulsion, and an antifreezing agent, wherein a solid content (A) of the natural rubber latex is from 30 to 60 parts by weight, a solid content (B) of the tackifying resin emulsion is from 10 to 30 parts by weight and a content (C) of the antifreezing agent is from 20 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of a total solid contents that is a sum (A+B+C) of the solid content (A) of the natural rubber latex, the solid content (B) of the tackifying resin emulsion and the content (C) of the anti-freezing agent; an aromatic modified terpene resin is used as a tackifying resin in the tackifying resin emulsion, and the puncture repair material can maintain high, stable sealing performance over a long period of time even when stored under harsh temperature conditions for a long period of time.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-111726A describes a puncture repair material for sealing holes in a punctured tire wherein the puncture repair material seals puncture holes quickly and has long term stability; and includes a natural rubber latex and an antifreeze liquid, and furthermore includes a resin-based emulsion that uses a nonionic surfactant as an emulsifying agent, and at least one selected from the group consisting of a modified phenolic resin, a petroleum resin, and a carboxylic acid modified terpene resin as a resin component.
As described above, puncture repair materials including natural rubber lattices, resin emulsions, and antifreezing agents have been conventionally proposed as puncture repair materials for repairing punctured tires.
Puncture repair materials like those described above are typically introduced into a tire from an air filling part of the tire. After the tire is filled with air to a desired air pressure, the puncture repair material reaches the puncture holes via the running of the vehicle. Moreover, aggregates of rubber particles in the puncture repair material form due to compressive forces and shear forces exerted on the tire as it contacts the ground and rotates, thereby enabling sealing of the puncture holes and making it possible for the vehicle to run.
However, excesses of the puncture repair material that are introduced into the tire do not aggregate and instead remain as a liquid in the tire. It is quite difficult to recover such excesses of the puncture repair material without removing the tire from the wheel. Therefore, tires must be removed from wheels in order to recover the puncture repair material. However, because puncture repair materials generally include an anti-freezing agent, such as ethylene glycol, legal disposal following removal from a rim is problematic.
In order to solve these problems, the present inventors invented an emulsion coagulant, which enables the simple recovery of puncture repair material from tires and the disposal of the recovered material. The coagulant can coagulate a puncture repair material containing emulsion particles, including a gelling agent and a mineral that induces aggregation of the emulsion particles, by weakening a surface charge of the emulsion particles and/or hydrogen bonding with the emulsion particles. As a result, an emulsion coagulant is provided that makes possible the simple recovery of puncture repair material from tires and the disposal of the recovered material (see Japanese Patent No. 4245654).
A recovery method for the puncture repair material using the emulsion coagulant described in Japanese Patent No. 4245654 includes the steps of adding the emulsion coagulant to the puncture repair material in the tire, coagulating the puncture repair material using the emulsion coagulant to form a coagulation product, and recovering the coagulation product from the tire.
However, the emulsion coagulant described in Japanese Patent No. 4245654 is a powder. Therefore, there is a limitation that in order to mix the emulsion coagulant with the puncture repair material that remains in the tire the tire has to be removed from the wheel. Additionally, when removing the tire from the wheel there are working condition problems, such as that the puncture repair material in the tire may spill out and stick to the tire changer.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent No. 3854841 describes a method for treating puncture repair material, which includes a pneumatic tire assembled on a rim that has undergone puncture repair by having a liquid puncture repair material including a latex introduced into the tire. A polymer coagulate (polyethyleneimine) is prepared as an aqueous solution of 20 to 30 mass %, and the aqueous solution is introduced to the polymer coagulate in a proportion of from 0.5 to 3.0 mass % to cause the polymer coagulate to coagulate and adhere to an inner wall of the tire. As the polymer coagulate is introduced to the liquid puncture repair material that is sealed in the pneumatic tire that has undergone puncture repair, thereby causing the puncture repair material to coagulate and adhere to the inner wall of the tire, the puncture repair material will not drip out when the pneumatic tire is removed from the wheel and soiling of the surroundings can be prevented.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a puncture repair material gelling agent that is a liquid, can be introduced into a tire through a tire air injection inlet (hereinafter referred to as a “tubeless valve” or “valve”) and can quickly gel a puncture repair material that includes a natural rubber latex, a resin emulsion, and an antifreezing agent, and a method of use for the same.